THE BRIEF REPRIEVE.
Leland succeeded in getting outside the circle of savages when, feeling
himself in the open woods, he dashed away at the top of his speed. He
ran with astonishing swiftness for a few moments, when, as might
naturally be expected, he so exhausted himself that he was scarcely able
to stand.
From the moment of starting, the Shawnees seemed to understand the
identity of the fugitives; and while they did not neglect to send in
pursuit of the flying negro, four of their fleetest runners instantly
dashed after the white man. Were it in the daylight, the latter would
not have stood a moment's chance against them; but he hoped to elude
them in the darkness and gloom of the woods. The obscuration being only
partial, his pursuers close in his rear, and the noise of the rustling
leaves beneath his feet betraying every step, it will be seen at once
that he was in the most constant and imminent danger.
Pausing but a few seconds--barely sufficient to catch his "second
breath," he again leaped away. There is no telling how long he would
have run, had he not stepped into a hole, deep and narrow--the mouth of
a fox's burrow evidently, for it was quite hidden by overgrowth--he fell
into the hole with a sudden violence which confused and stunned him.
Panting and exhausted, he lay still and awaited his pursuers.
They were far closer than he imagined. He seemed scarcely to have
disappeared, when the whole four passed within a few feet of him. How
fearfully his heart throbbed as the foot of one threw several leaves
upon his person!
Leland had lain here less than five minutes, when a second footstep
startled him. It came from an entirely different direction; and
approaching to within about a dozen feet, it halted. Rising to his
hands and feet so that his head was brought upon a level with the
ground, he peered through the darkness at the object. One long, earnest,
scrutinizing look, revealed the dress of a large Indian. His position
was so favorable that he could even make out the rifle he held in his
hand.
He stood as motionless as a statue for a moment, and then gave utterance
to a cry that resembled exactly that of the whippoorwill. Receiving no
response, he repeated it again, but with no better success than before.
The cowering fugitive was listening for the slightest movement upon his
part, when to his unfeigned amazement, the Indian in a suppressed
whisper called out, "_Leland!_"
The young man, however, was not thrown off his guard. He knew that every
one of his captors spoke the English language, some of them quite
fluently. It need scarcely be said that he made no response to the call,
even when it was iterated again and again. The savage during these
utterances did not stir a hand or foot, but seemed to bend all his
faculties into the one of listening. He had stood but a few moments,
when Leland caught the rustle of approaching feet.
The Indian detected them at the same moment, and instantly moved off,
but with such a catlike tread that the young man scarcely heard him at
all. Ah! had he but known the identity of that strange Indian, and
responded to his call, he would have been saved.
It was scarcely a moment later when the whole four Indians came back at
a leisurely gait, and halted not more than a rod from where Leland
imagined he lay concealed. They commenced conversing at once in broken
English:
"White man got legs of deer--run fast," said one.
"Yeh!--git away from four Shummumdewumrum--run much fast," added
another.
"Go back to camp--stay dere--won't come among Shawnee ag'in--don't like
him, t'ink."
"He run much fast--mebbe fast as black man."
At this point the whole four laughed immoderately, as if in remembrance
of the ludicrous figure of Zeb. Their mirth continued for several
moments, when they sobered down and renewed their conversation.
"Wait till daylight--den foller trail t'rough woods--Shummumdewumrum git
eye on it--soon cotch him."
This Leland felt was now his great danger. Should his pursuers return to
their camp, he hoped the distance that he thus gained upon them would be
sufficient to carry him entirely beyond their reach; but if they decided
to remain where they were, his only chance was to steal away before the
morning came. Judging such to be their intention, he determined to make
the attempt at once.
On his hands and knees he commenced crawling forward, listening to every
word that was uttered.
"White man try hard to git away--don't like Shawnee great much."
"He run much fast, _den fall down in woods_!"
"_Den try to crawl away like snake!_"
Leland saw that it was all over with him and gave up at once. The
Indians had been aware of his hiding-place from the moment he fell, and
their passage beyond it, their return and their conversation, were all
made on purpose to toy with his fears, as a cat would play with a mouse
before destroying it.
As one of the savages uttered the last words, he walked directly to the
prostrate man, and ordered him to arise. Leland judged it best to resist
no further. He accordingly obeyed; and, saddened and despairing, was led
back a prisoner to the Indian camp.
* * * * *
We have heard of a fish, known in the humble fisherman's parlance as the
_ink-fish_, which, when pursued by an enemy, has the power of tinging
the water in its immediate vicinity with such a dark color, that its
pursuer is completely befogged and gives up the hopeless chase in
disgust.
A realizing sense of his recklessness and his imminent peril came over
Zeb when he felled the rising Shawnee to the earth. It was his
intention, in the first place, to serve every one in the same manner;
but as they came to their feet far more rapidly than he anticipated, he
gave over the idea, and, with a "Ki! yi!" plunged headlong into the
woods. At this very juncture, the attention of the Indians was taken up
with Leland, as the more important captive of the two, and for a moment
the negro escaped notice; but the instant the four started after him,
two others gave Zeb their undivided attention.
The sable fugitive, with all his recklessness, did the very best thing
that could have been done under the circumstances. Instead of fleeing,
as did Leland, he ran less than a hundred yards, when he halted abruptly
and took a position behind a sapling. Here he stood as motionless as
death, while his enemies came on. Whether his intensely black
countenance had the power of diffusing deeper darkness into the
surrounding gloom, or whether it was the unexpected manner of his flight
that deluded his pursuers, we are unable to say. Certain it is that
although the two savages passed very closely to him, neither saw nor
suspected his presence.
"Gorra, but dat's soothin'," chuckled Zeb. "Dey've missed me dis time,
shuah! Wonder whether dey'll outlive dar disapp'intment, when dey finds
out dat when dey finds me, dey hain't found me! Ki! yi!"
He maintained his motionless position for several moments longer, all
the while listening for his enemies. As their footsteps finally died out
in the distance, and he realized that he was left alone indeed, his
former characteristic returned to him.
"What's to be done, dat _am_ de question!" said he, speaking in an
incautiously loud voice, as he spread out his left hand at the same
time, and rested the forefinger of his right upon it. "In de _fust_
place, I don't know what has become of Master Leland. If he's done got
away, how am I to find him? If I sets up a yell to cotch his ear, like
'nuff de oders will hear it also likewise. Den if he hasn't got away
what _am_ de use ob bawlin' to him. Guess I won't bawl."
So much was settled at least. The fact that it would not only be a
useless but an extremely dangerous undertaking to make an outcry at that
particular time, worked itself through his head, and the intention was
accordingly given over for the present.
"One thing _am_ sartin, howsumever," he added. "I'm hungry, and I know
dar am some meat left by dat camp-fire, dat would relish high jus' now.
But had I oughter to go dar or not? Dey mought found me, but den I'm
hungry."
When our own personal feelings are put into the balance, they are apt to
outweigh the dictates of prudence and sense. The experiences of the
night, although fraught in their teachings to the ignorant black man,
had not as yet attained sufficient dignity to stand before the animal
feelings of his nature.
Although he comprehended in a degree the risk he run, he decided it was
worth his while to do it, rather than suffer for a few hours longer the
cravings of what was only a moderate degree of hunger.
"De stummich am de most importantest part ob man, and consequently am de
fust thing dat should receive his undiwided attention."
With this philosophical conclusion, he turned his footsteps toward the
camp-fire. Despite its proximity, he experienced considerable difficulty
in finding it. The few smoldering embers, gleaming like a demon's eye,
guided him, however, to the spot.
"Dar _am_ anoder matter sartin," thought he, as he came up. "Mr.
Zebenezer Langdon is not agwine to be able to s'arch here for de meat
onless he has some more light--Ki! dat coal am warm!" he exclaimed, as
he hopped off from the fiery end of a fagot.
It required but a few moments to gather sufficient fuel to replenish the
fire. The hot coals set the wood almost immediately into a roaring
blaze, which threw a warm, rich light through the surrounding woods for
many yards around.
Zeb was radiant with smiles. The cool night and the constrained position
had chilled him considerably, and he gave the fire a few moments to
infuse the comfortable warmth into his person.
"Now I'll jes' warm up my hands like," said he, after a few minutes,
"and den I'll go to work;" and forthwith he held them toward the blaze,
rubbing and turning them into each other with great zest and enjoyment.
"_Dar_, I guess dat'll do. Now I'll make a s'arch--Gorra! whar did _you_
come from?"
As the negro turned, he found himself standing face to face with the two
Shawnees who had started in his pursuit but a short time before! He
realized that he was recaptured, and made no resistance. He was
instantly re-bound to the very tree from which he had escaped, while the
Indians sat upon the ground very near him, firmly resolved that he
should not again have so favorable an opportunity to leave them.
The negro was hardly secured, when the other savages made their
appearance with Leland. He was also fastened to the identical tree from
which he had been loosened; and there, sad, gloomy and despairing, he
was left until morning.